Gruul Clans
|mechanics= Bloodthirst / Bloodrush }} The Gruul Clans is the guild from the plane and city of Ravnica. Information When the magical ink on the Guildpact was still drying, the Gruul were intended to represent the wild, unpredictable facets of the natural world. After all, much of Ravnica was still natural and pristine, and the wild animals in the world had to be part of the future of the plane. As time went by, however, the Gruul's power began to wane. With more and more of the wilds of Ravnica replaced with concrete and homes, there was less for the Gruul to represent. The Selesnya and Simic began to make the non-sentient their charges, and the less passionate guilds (the Azorius and Orzhov) began to see the Gruul as less and less relevant. By the opening of the Ravnica set, the Gruul guild has shattered into multiple clans, with little or no connections between each other. A 'beggar's guild', Gruul clans raid abandoned areas, live off the resources, and move on when things run dry. Many different clans exist. Some of them are descendants of the Gruul guild, some are escaped slaves, but all of them consider themselves Gruul. Also known as: The Clans Guild 'Leader': The Gruul have no leader, but if they did, it would be Borborygmos, a cyclops who rules the Gruul's largest clan. He is one of the Gruul's fiercest fighters, thus, this savage cyclops is usually at the head of the largest, most destructive raids. Borborygmos is said to be the grandson of the legendary Cisarzim, though this could be simply a rumor. While the average life span of a Ravnican cyclops is unknown, it would have to be a very long time for Borborygmos to be Cisarzim's grandson. The events of the Ravnica block open ten thousand years after the signing of the Guildpact. Cisarzim was the original signer for the Gruul, so to have only three generations of cyclopses in ten thousand years, the average life span of a cyclops would have to be around three thousand years of age. It's certainly possible that Borborygmos is a descendant of Cisarzim, but to be his grandson is unlikely (especially considering that the leader is the first in a Gruul raid). Guild 'Champion': Ulasht, the hate seed, a legendary hydra who inhabits ruined areas of Ravnica, is revered by the Gruul as a symbol of ultimate anarchy. It is not technically a member of the Clans, simply a living, breathing example of the Gruul beliefs. Parun: According to the first novel, Cisarzim, a gigantic cyclops, was the Gruul parun. Guild Hall: None. The Gruul guildhall was supposed to be a lodge-style guildhall, but it was destroyed long ago and its location has been lost to time. Now, the only thing the Gruul have that even comes close to a guildhall is Skarrg, the Rage Pits, a palace totally demolished by the Gruul, the closest thing to natural landscape left on Ravnica and the center of Borborygmos's power. Structure: Loose, disconnected gangs. The Gruul are sometimes called "the guild which is not one," because they eschew any structure at all. Inside large cities, the beggars' guilds are often loyal to the Gruul. Outside the cities, the raiding gangs carve out swaths of smoldering ruin and rubble in which to subsist. Values: The absolute breakdown of society. The Gruul believe that society has no place in the natural order. Call it instinct or impulse, the Gruul preach it just the same. They show an unrivaled bloodthirst, and that is represented well in the keyword of the same name. Goal: The only law that matters in the world is the law of nature. Instinct should always overpower logic. Colours: Green and Red Featured Set: Guildpact Signet: Gruul Signet. Their signet is a burning tree with a single eye in the middle, not actually the symbol for the entire guild, but simply the sign of the most prominent group: the Burning-Tree clan, led by Borborygmos. It symbolizes the return to nature, combining green's love of growth and nature with red's fiery passion and disgust for rules and restrictions. Artifact: Gruul War Plow Gameplay Mechanic: Bloodthirst. Creatures with bloodthirst come into play much stronger (in the form of +1/+1 counters) if they were played on a turn during which an opponent took damage. Category:Guild Category:Ravnica